The 2024 MotoGP World Championship added another exiting chapter in it’s thrilling story. Join us as DRC reviews a modern era masterpiece that took place in Sachsenring. This is the 2024 MotoGP German Grand Prix review.
Bagnaia stands tall after Martin’s Crash and Burn
Over the weekend, Francesco Bagnaia looked a shadow to Jorge Martin, the Martinator topping practice and then eventually securing pole. In contrast, Pecco qualified fourth behind the Trackhouse Aprilias of Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez.
The hopes for a win looked slim as Martin pulled a breathtaking recovery to win the sprint, even after losing positions at the start. To put salt on the wounds, Pecco was unable to pass the Trackhouse Aprilia of Miguel Oliveira and finished third.
That did not stop Bagnaia however, as he snatched the lead of the German Grand Prix from Martin at the start. But soon enough, in an attempt to manage his tires, he fell back down to fourth. After the first fifteen laps though, Pecco pulled the trigger.
Lapping in the 1:20s Pecco picked off those ahead, eventually being just 0.8 seconds behind Martin in the race lead with 3 laps to go. It was looking like Martin would win, but the pressure of keeping Bagnaia behind got to him. With just two laps to go, Jorge Martin crashed out at turn 1, gifting Pecco the lead of the race and the championship.
With this win, Bagnaia surpassed Casey Stoner as the rider with most wins atop a Ducati desmosedici. His 24th win with Ducati also comes with his 200th start, and is Ducati’s 95th win overall.
Marquez brothers finish on the Podium as Marc climbs to second.
Marc Marquez, dubbed the “King of the Ring” was in poor shape on friday. After a heavy crash on friday, he suffered a broken index finger on his left hand, and a bruised ribcage. His situation worsened when he was impeded by Stefan Bradl on his flying lap in Q1, meaning he qualified P13 for the sprint. He eventually finish 6th only 0.003 seconds ahead of Maverick Vineales in a photo finish.
It was looking like Alex Marquez was going to be the lead Gresini and the lead Marquez overall. Alex qualified fifth and had strong pace in practice. He fell down to ninth in the sprint, but was still optimistic about Sunday.
As the lights went out, Marc Marquez picked up 8 places in the first seven laps to slot in 5th behind his brother, who passed Franky Morbidelli three laps after. Marc then caught up with Morbidelli and nearly passed him into turn 1, but the two collided, popping off Marquez’s airbag.
That incident forced Marc Marquez to pull the trigger, overtaking Morbidelli for fourth place which became third after Martin’s crash. He then passed Alex in the final lap to secure a 2-3 for Gresini Racing, and two brothers shared a podium in MotoGP for the first time since 1997.
Alex Marquez had a great weekend too, his pace in the sprint the only roadblock he faced to a P3 finish. His brother’s comeback may have overshadowed his performance, but his racing showed why Gresini trusted him for another two years.
Aprilia start off strong but suffer due to lack of Race Pace
Aprilia faced a challenge even before the weekend started. Aleix Espargaro withdrew to aid his recovery after a scary crash in the Sprint race at Assen. With test rider Lorenzo Savadori unavailable to stand in, Aprilia was forced to run only one rider in Maverick Vineales who qualified 7th. Things were better for the customer Trackhouse team though, with their riders qualifying 2nd and 3rd and Miguel Oliveira finishing second in the sprint come Saturday.
That was as good the things were going to get though. Maverick lost 6th place to Marc Marquez by 0.003 seconds, and Raul Fernandes slipped down to 14th in the sprint. Come sunday, all three Aprilias suffered from the lack of race pace against the Ducatis and even the KTMs. Miguel’s impressive sprint podium went to wain as Oliveira was the lead Aprilia in 6th, followed by Fernandes in 10th and Vineales in 12th as the chequred flag fell.
Morbidelli experiences a Renaissance but looses out due to poor tyre management.
Franky Morbidelli was having a decent weekend. The Prima Pramac rider qualifying sixth and gaining a place in the sprint. He even challenged Pecco and passed him in the opening stages of the main race. He briefly was on the tail-end of a Prima Pramac 1-2 as Martin hammered on.
But poor tyre management came back to haunt him, as he lost places left and right, to Bagnaia and then to the Marquez brothers later on. A better tyre management plan would have ensured atleast a top 4 finish for him, instead he limped home in fifth, getting passed by Bastianini on the final lap to add to the pain. As promising this weekend was for Franky, he will surely feel motivated to go for it in the races after the summer break.
Title Standings
The championship has a new leader as the German GP shakes up the order.
With the German GP done and dusted, MotoGP heads to Silverstone next after a three week long summer break. The British Motorcycle Grand Prix weekend takes place August 2-4 at the famous Silverstone Circuit, which just hosted an amazing Formula One Grand Prix.
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One reply on “The title fight flips on it’s head in Germany: DRC’s MotoGP German Grand Prix Review”
[…] For most of the season this year, Jorge Martin has been leading the Rider’s Championship. However in the last race before the summer break, the Championship flipped on it’s head. […]